Money Detective
Family looking at savings together on a laptop

Small Habits, Big Savings

Free tools and honest tips to help everyday Australian households stop overpaying on bills, insurance, groceries, and everything in between.

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Comparison tools

Compare & Save

Eight free tools that do the digging for you — pick one, plug in your numbers, and see exactly where you can save.

✓ 100% Free ✓ No Sign-Up ✓ Takes 2 Minutes

Electricity & Gas Bills

Compare energy plans and see exactly why your bill looks the way it does.

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Car Insurance

Line up premium, excess, and what's actually covered before you renew.

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Home & Contents Insurance

Compare cover and excess so you're not paying for gaps you didn't know were there.

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Mobile Plan Comparison

Work out the real cost per GB and what you're actually getting for it.

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Internet & NBN Plan Comparison

Compare cost, speed, and contract terms before you switch or renew.

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Health Insurance

Compare premium, excess, and cover — hospital, extras, and the fine print.

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Subscription Audit

List what you're paying for and see what's adding up each month.

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Bank Statement Converter

Upload a PDF statement, get clean rows ready to paste into your spreadsheet templates.

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Family saving money together
Our story

Small Steps. Big Savings.

"

Money Detective began with a simple frustration: comparing bills felt like a part-time job I didn't have time for. So I created the practical tools I wished I'd had — making it easier to find better-value options and keep more of your money.

Since then, Money Detective has grown into a helpful resource for everyday savings, including grocery and shopping tips, cashback guidance, subscription audits and straightforward bill comparisons — all in one place.

Because saving money shouldn't feel like another full-time job.

A
Alex B
Founder, Money Detective
Downloadable templates

Spreadsheets That Actually Do the Work

Not another blank budget grid. Real dashboards, live charts, and a bank-statement importer built in — you just fill in the yellow cells.

✓ Works In Excel & Google Sheets ✓ Real Dashboards, Not Just Tables ✓ Instant Download
★ Flagship
Payday Buffer & Annual Bills Planner dashboard

Payday Buffer & Annual Bills Planner

"How much can I actually spend before my next payday?" — answered in one number, every pay cycle.

  • Works to your real pay cycle — weekly, fortnightly or monthly
  • Auto-spreads car rego, insurance & Christmas into per-pay contributions
  • Emergency fund tracker with progress bar
  • Bank statement import with auto-categorisation
  • Live Safe-to-Spend dashboard with charts
$19.95 one-time payment
Learn more
Household Bill Tracker dashboard

Household Bill Tracker

Every bill, one place — with an auto-warning before anything renews or lapses.

  • Flags renewals due within 30 days automatically
  • Converts any billing frequency to a true monthly cost
  • Visual dashboard — spend by category, at a glance
  • Bank statement import built in
$12.95 one-time payment
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Subscription & Cashback Tracker dashboard

Subscription & Cashback Tracker

See what you're really paying for — and what you're actually getting back.

  • Auto-flags subscriptions you've marked as unused
  • Cashback log with a running total across every platform
  • Visual dashboard — spend and earnings, side by side
  • Bank statement import built in
$12.95 one-time payment
Learn more
Debt Payoff & Savings Planner dashboard

Debt Payoff & Savings Planner

A real month-by-month payoff simulation — not a guess. Know your actual debt-free date.

  • Snowball or Avalanche method, your choice
  • Freed-up minimum payments automatically roll to the next debt
  • Total interest you'll pay, calculated exactly
  • Visual payoff curve — watch the balance drop to zero
$14.95 one-time payment
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Couples' Shared Money Planner dashboard

Couples' Shared Money Planner

Split bills fairly, and finally stop doing the maths on who owes who.

  • 50/50, proportional-to-income, or custom % splitting
  • Automatic settlement page — exact amount, exact direction
  • Works with different incomes, no awkward conversations
  • Visual dashboard — shared spend by category
$14.95 one-time payment
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Low-Friction Budget dashboard

Low-Friction Budget

Three categories. One page. Built for when a normal budget feels like too many decisions.

  • Bills, Spending, Savings — nothing more to decide
  • One "Left This Week" number, no red warnings or guilt
  • Everything visible on one screen, no digging through tabs
  • Bank statement import, simplified to match
$9.95 one-time payment
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Three of the Money Detective dashboard templates, fanned out
Get all six
The Complete Money Detective Toolkit
Payday Buffer · Bill Tracker · Subscription & Cashback · Debt Payoff · Couples' Planner · Low-Friction Budget
$85.70 $49.95
Free Fortnightly Budget dashboard preview
✓ 100% Free — No Catch
Not ready to buy? Start here, free.
The Free Fortnightly Budget — income, essentials, savings, and a simple dashboard. See how it feels before you decide on anything paid.
⬇ Download Free
The Money Back Guide

Stop Leaving Money On The Table

50+ real ways Australian households claw back thousands a year — no coffee-cutting, no giving up the things you enjoy.

  • Cashback apps & loyalty stacking, done properly
  • Fuel-price timing tricks that actually save $15–20 a tank
  • Government rebates most people never claim
  • Energy plan switching, explained in plain English
  • 11 categories, all Australia-specific, all current
Commonwealth Bank estimates $10 billion in government benefits goes unclaimed by Australians every year — this guide shows you exactly where to look.
$15
one-time payment
✓ Instant download   ✓ Read on any device   ✓ Secure checkout
Australian Money Back Guide ebook
50+money-saving
strategies
Get paid to shop

Cashback & Rewards Platforms

Free browser add-ons and apps that help you get more out of the money you're already spending — sign up once, then click through before you shop to make sure it counts.

✓ Free To Join ✓ Stacks With Sales ✓ Takes 2 Minutes

ShopBack Live

Cashback at hundreds of Australian retailers, plus regular bonus-rate deals.

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TopCashback Live

Another major Australian cashback platform, worth comparing rates on big purchases.

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Coupert Live

Auto-applies coupon codes and stacks cashback on top at checkout.

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Honey Live

Browser extension that finds and applies the best coupon code automatically.

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Capital One Shopping

Price comparison and cashback browser extension, plus deal alerts.

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1
Sign up with the link below
2
Shop as normal — cashback tracks automatically
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It's totally free to join
We receive a small cashback of our own when you sign up through our link — it helps keep Money Detective's tools free for everyone.
Everyday savings

Shopping Hacks

Small habits that add up over a month — no coupon-clipping required.

At The Supermarket

  • Check the unit price (per 100g/L), not the shelf price — bigger packs aren't always cheaper.
  • Shop the half-price cycle — most staples rotate on sale roughly every 6–8 weeks.
  • Stock up on pantry basics only when they're on special, not out of habit.
  • Compare home brand vs name brand on staples like flour, rice, and tinned tomatoes — the gap is often bigger than the quality difference.
  • Shop with a list and a rough budget — unplanned trips are where overspending happens.
  • Check the reduced-to-clear section first for that day's meals.

Tips & Tricks

  • RACQ, RACV, and similar memberships often include discounted gift cards for major retailers — check before paying full price.
  • Electricity providers sometimes run their own rewards programs with discounted gift cards too — worth checking your account, not assuming there's nothing there.
  • Coles and Woolworths both run 10% off your shop once a month for eligible rewards members — time a bigger shop around it.
  • Boost offers in Everyday Rewards or Flybuys before you shop — they knock extra dollars off specific items that week.
  • Buy on special, not on impulse, then stack it with a cashback app for a second layer of savings on the same purchase.
Fresh from the desk

The Blog

Short, practical reads — no fluff, just what actually saves you money.

Energy Bills

Why Your Solar Credit Drops Off A Cliff

Tiered feed-in tariffs, explained in plain English.
Insurance

What To Check Before Switching Insurers

The fine print that actually matters.
Subscriptions

Five Subscriptions Worth Cancelling

An easy quarterly audit habit.